A restaurant manager wants to know whether you can handle a full section on a Friday night, make guests feel welcome and sell the menu without pushing. Your resume should be short and concrete: the type of restaurant, the size of your section, your certifications and when you can work.
Restaurant server with five years of experience in a busy casual dining restaurant and an upscale bistro. Handles sections of up to 7 tables on a full Friday or Saturday night and keeps service warm and on pace. Knows the menu, allergens and wine pairings and suggests without pushing. ServSafe Food Handler and alcohol server certified. Available nights, weekends and holidays.
Many employers have your resume read first by software that filters on these words. Use them where they match your experience: in your summary and in your work experience.
Casual, upscale, high volume, seat count. It tells a manager what pace and style you are used to.
The number of tables or guests you handle shows how much you can take on.
ServSafe, alcohol server certification and food handler cards. Many restaurants require them.
Wine pairings, specials, average check. Show you help the restaurant do well, not just take orders.
Nights, weekends and holidays are when restaurants need servers most.
The type of restaurant, section size, POS systems, certifications, a result like average check and your availability.
Use jobs where you worked with customers under pressure, like retail or fast food. Get a food handler card and mention your availability.
You can mention sales, like average check or being a top seller, but leave out personal tip income.
Usually not, but a short one helps for upscale or well-known restaurants. Mention why that restaurant and when you can work.
See the restaurant server cover letter example
Resumate is an AI resume builder for job seekers, at getresumate.com and getresumate.nl. We help candidates get past the filter with a resume, a cover letter and a match per job posting. Resumate is not a recruiter ATS and not a job board.